A reply to Mr. Thomas Taylor's "Complete failure,"

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f C7 T' <

A REPLY

MR. THOMAS TAYLOR'S

COMPLETE FAILURE/' &c.,

MR. RICHARD LIVESEY'S

"MORMONISM EXPOSED.'

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'•'■An evil and adulterous generation smketh after a sign." — Matt. xii. 29

PARLEY P. PRATT.

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MANCHESTER :

PRINTED BY W. R. THOMAS, 61, SPRING GARDENS

1840.

Price Three Self-Pence,

A REPLY.

It seems a Mr. Taylor and some others have been greatly alarmed
of late, on account of certain men who have come from America to
preach the doctrine of Chi-ist and his apostles, and to " contend for
the faith once delivered to the saints !" For instance, the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, such as revelations, visions, the ministering of angels, the
gift of tongues, intei-pretations, miracles, healings, &c. I know of no
reason why this should alarm them, unless it is because this ancient
doctrine of the New Testament comes in contact with Methodism, and
all other systems which "'have a form of godliness and deny the
power."

Hence, Mr. Taylor very justly remarks in the 4th page of his
pamphlet as follows, — "Any attempt to discuss the question with these
people would be utterly fruitless." We are glad Mr. T. is sensible of
this, that having once discovered the prmciples which Christ and his
apostles taught, the Saints are not disposed to turn from them to the
doctrines of Methodism.

Thus, feeling a conviction in his own mind that our doctrine could
not be refuted by scriptui-e and argument, Mr. T. and his associates
have recourse to the old way which Satan made use of to tempt our
Saviour, in order to prove whether he was the Son of God. " If thou
be the Son of God cast thyself down from hence ; for it is -vs-ritten, he
shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."
These were the words of the tempter to our Lord ; and so it is in these
days, persons come in a similar manner to a member of the church,
saying, if thou be a servant of God speak in Hebrew, for it is written
" they shall speak with new tongues." But the man to whom they
came, instead of resisting the temptation as Jesus did, yields to it,
and actually attempts to do the thing which the tempters suggest, in-
stead of rebuking their iniquity. Thus, overpowered by temptation,
and actuated by its spirit instead of the Spmt of God, he utters sounds
(to use their own comparison) more disgusting than swine. It seems
too, that a Mr. Whyatt, one of their own company, was seized by
the same spirit, and spake or muttered in a similar manner, to the no
little amusement of this dignified assembly.

Thus, these evil and adulterous men, (for such they are as sure
as Jesus testified the truth in Matthew xii. 29.) have been the
means of manifesting their own shame, and of leading a fellow being
into temptation.

The com-se which they have taken in this matter amounts to this —

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it is as much as to say, Lord, we are so good, and useful, and wise,
that we could be a great help to your cause if we were to embrace it ;
indeed your cause^can hardly roll on without our aid and influence : but
in order to secure it, you must come to our terms. You must not only
work signs and wonders, but you must work them when, where, and by
whom we please, — you must not only give the gift of tongues, interpre-
tations, &c., but it must be Hebrew. Thus Lord, you must divide the
gifts of the Spirit severally to every man as we will. On these condi-
tions we will be thy servants, and join thy people. Where this system
would end I know not : for having won a set of evil and adulterous
men into the society, by giving them a sign, they would find ten thou-
sand more sign- seekers of the same character; and these would in
turn dictate to the Lord just such signs as they pleased, and the Lord
must perform them or his servants would be counted impostors : and
even if perfoimed, we would have ten thousand more of a wicked
and adulterous generation in the church, and so on until evil and abo-
mination had covered the earth.

Now we wish the public to understand that if Mr. INIahon boasted
of his gifts, and offered to exhibit them for the purpose stated in Mr.
Taylor's pamphlet, he did very wrong, and grieved the Spirit of the
Lord, and in consequence lost it, and was led away by the spirit of the
e\i[ one, and has need to repent and make confession both to the church
and the public ; -n-ithout which he ought to be disfellowshipped as an
officer and member of the Saints. The gifts of God are sacred, and
only to be used by the leadings of the Spirit of God, for sacred and
holy purposes, viz., " for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ, for the perfecting of the saints." — (See Ephesians,
4th chap.) These gifts are not governed or controlled by the will of
mCTi as they please ; but are divided to every man as God ^vill. No
man should make an appointment before hand to work any sign or ex-
ercise any gift, but should leave these things to the mo^'ings of the
Spirit of the Lord, especially avoiding to exhibit them as a mere curi-
osity to gratify those who come seeking signs as a matter on which to
build their faith. Remember " they have Moses and the prophets,
and if they will not believe them, neither will they believe though one
should rise from the dead."

We wish the public to understand also, that so far from wishing a
sign wrought to convince Mr. T. and his associates of the truth of our
doctrine, and bring them into the church, we could not consistently
receive them if they were convinced, until they repented of the wicked-
ness which they have committed in this affair ; (that is, of seeking a
sign on which to build their faith,) and take a different course alto-
gether. " Faith comes by hearing,"" and hearing by the word of God "
So on the other hand, signs come by faith : or in other words hearing
the word of God ^ro(/jtces faith, and signs confirm it.

If the doctrine we teach is scriptursd, what need of a sign to ftonfinn
it? If it be unscriptural it ought not tQ be believed although confii-med
by a thousand signs.

The Latter-Day Saints ask no man to believe any book or principle
which is not established by two or three witnesses, and even then we

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do not ask tliem to believe in anything contrarj" to the scriptures : and
furthermore if one is not satisfied with the testimony of -witnesses,
and with the corroborating testimony of the prophets and apostles,
then it is their privilege to go before tbe Lord in the name of Jesus, and
ask him in humble faith and sincerity of heart to give them a know-
ledge and testimony of the truth or falsehood of any system which
claims their consideration. The Almighty by his Holy Spirit has
promised to bear testimony of his ovm truth. In this way all humble
behevers in Christ may know and bear witness themselves to the
truth which is now promulgated by the Latter-Day Saints.

It may not be improper for me to remark here, that Elder Young
advised Mr. Mahon not to go on such an errand by any means, as he
did not think it consistent with the duties of a minister or member of
our society. This Elder Young at that time had the superintendence
of the society in this town and vicinity. Therefore the Church is not
to be charged with or censured for anything which Mr. Mahon may-
have done as an individual.

I -^^ould also remark, that several of the Latter-Day Saints were
refused admittance into the meeting where this affair took place, as I
have been informed by Mr. John Mc Ilwrick, who v/as present.

We now dismiss the subject of Mr. Taylor and his tract, and pro-
ceed to reply to Mr. Livesey's puMcation ; which in its preface signed
" Thomas Newton," states that this system "is most injuriously affect-
ing the ties of social life by severing husband and wife, parent and
child." It further states, that among the colony of Saints who lately
embarked for America, " the wife has left the husband ; the daughter
has forsaken the widowed mother, and left her to sink into the depths
of distress and poverty."

These assertions are utterly false, such things are contrary to every
prmciple of our society; and I am sorry to be compelled to say, in jus-
tice to our society and the public, that these assertions coming from
Mr. Thomas Newton are wilfully false, as I am prepared to prove by
a respectable member of the Church of England, who has conversed
with Mr. Newton on the subject since these falsehoods were published
by him. This gentleman asked Mr. Newton what he alluded to in
these slanders, and he replied that he hardly knew, he wrote them be-
cause he thought we ought to be put down any how ; but being still
questioned, he brought forward the case of Mrs. Poole, the truth of
whose case is as follows : — her husband had turned her away, and had
ceased to live with her or provide for her, many months before this emi-
gration to America took'place. Herself and four children were depen-
dant on the charity of their friends, and were sent to America by the
charity of others to save them from hunger. This Mrs. Poole was the
daughter of a widow by the name of Ann Miller, who has just informed
me, and wished me to inform the pubhc, that if Mr. Newton aUudes
to her, her daughter has not left her destitute of support ; but on the other
handj^she has had to support her and her children in a great measure
from the time of her marriage until her embarkation for America. Now
let Mr. Newton come forward and face these things if he can. But no
doubt his preface with these charges in it, will be republished a thou-

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sand miles from this place, and be vouched for by manyreyerend names,
and thus answer the purpose there, that similar publications in Mr.
Livesey's pamphlet are made to answer in this place. Here is a fair
sample of the maniierin vrhichlies are hatched up by "very respectable"
men, and published in the papers in one country, and then taken by
some pious priest and conveyed to another country, and published
as facts.

Mr. Livesey remarks, that " vre have the evidence of prophecy, of

miracles, of purity of doctrine, and of the holy examples, and pious

lives, and disinterested conduct of those ■who have been the chosen instru-

l ments of the Almighty to convey to man the records of his will," but

that " the Book of Mormon is without even the shadow of such evidence."

To this we reply, that as to the evidence of prophecy and its fulfil-
ment, the Book of Mormon is abundantly supported ; that is, there
are predictions in it which have been fulfilled since it was published in
English, which would convince any unprejudiced mind who is
acquainted with its contents, that it is a production of the spirit of truth.
As to miracles, Mr. Livesey has not seen a single miracle, nor can he
produce a man who has seen a miracle wrought to prove the truth of
the Bible. Neither can he bring testimony as to the miracles, holy
lives,or conduct of the writers of the Bible, except from their own
writings;* and from these we learn that the writers of the New Testa-
ment were considered by the world at large as the very off-scouring of
all things, — as deceivers, babblers, madmen ; superstitious, visionary,
foolish, disturbers of the public peace, breaking up churches, destroy-
ing other religions, teaching unlawful customs, turaing the world up-
side down, everywhere spoken against, hated of all men ; and those who
bore this.testimony of them were priests, kings, nobles, judges, rulers,
philosophers, and learned men, who would vouch for each other's re-
spectability. Now in all these respects the Latter-Day Saints will
'QTipare very well with the Former- Day Saints, especially judging from
Vv, Livesey's pamphlet, in which maybe found the following charges
rigainst the translator and witnesses of the Book of Mormon, testified
to by more than fifty "respectable witnesses."

"Fortune-telling," " money- digging," "trick-playing," "juggiing,"
" wicked men," " cheats," "liars," "profane," "intemperate," " quar-
relsome," "not good characters," " gold-bible company," " indolent,"
" cruel," " destitute of moral character," " visionary," " addicted to
vicious habits," &c.

What more proof can people wish for to prove the Latter-Day
Saints to be the church of God, than is here given by Mr. Livesey and
his witnesses ? does not this catalogue amount to the " all manner of
e^•il" which Christ foretold would be said of his followers? if not I
can cite them to some fifty different publications against us, which are
equally famous for a multiplicity of evil reports, with that of 3Ir. Live-
sey's, and all vouched for by "very respectable" priests, &c., so that
from them all, we think the full catalogue may be made out, and if so
we shall rejoice exceedingly, knowing ttiat our reward is great in hea-

* Tbe Saints do not call in question the truth of the Bible, but are willing to admit
its truth upon the testimony of its authors.

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veu, and that in this respect we are not a whit behind the ancient
saints.

As to piu-ity of doctrine, vre challenge Mr. Livesey, or any other of
our opponents, to find fault with the Book of Mormon. It everywhere
teaches faith in Christ, holiness of life, and obedience to all his com-
mandments. Mr. L. says, upon the statement of this book (Mormon)
the Latter-Day Saints' religion is founded. This is incorrect; our
religion is founded upon the most sound principles of doctrine, as con-
tained in the Bible, as well as in the Book of Mormon. The system
taught by Christ and his apostles, is the system we teach — it was the
system Mormon taught.

Mr. L. complains of all the witnesses to the Book of Mormon being
interested witnesses ; that is, they are all followers of, and believers
in, that system. But, I enquire, who would be a disinterested wit-
ness .' If aU Christendom were to see the original document, and be
convinced of its truth, they would all be as much interrsted in it as
those who first -nibiessed it. The Lord never chose a disinterested
witness of his resurrection or any other truth. Would Mr. L. have a
witness who would say the thing is true to be sure, but does not con-
cei-n me, I purpose never to obey it myself, but to go down to hell, for
the sake of giving others a disinterested testimony of its truth ? But
after all, the first witnesses to the Book of Mormon were not members
of this church when they gave their testimony; for there was no
such church in existence until some time after their testimony had
been published.

After various objections of the foregoing tenor are brought forward
by Mr. Livesey, he next proceeds to bring up the old story of Spal-
ding's romance being converted into the Book of !Mormon by Mr.
Sidney Rigdon and others. This wicked fabrication has been so fre-
quently repeated, and often replied to, that we deem it inexjiedient to
reply again; whoever wishes to see a complete refutation of the
Spaulding story, will read our reply to Mr. Bush, (a church minister
of the parish of Peover) ; this tract is for sale at 1 49, 01dham-road»
and by several booksellers in this town and other places, price three-
half-pence.

Mr. Livesey quotes several of our Church rules referring to money
for the support of the poor, for the feeding, clothing, and ad-
ministering to the wants of travelling preachers, &c., and for printing,
building houses of worship, &c., these he finds fault with; but in so
doing he finds fault with Jesus Christ and his ancient apostles, for
they had quite as much to say about money as our rules have.

For my own part I can say, that I expect the public whom I serve,
to feed me, cloth me, and give me money for my necessary expences,
and likewise to my ministering brethren; I expect the Saints also to
give money for the support of the poor among them, and this to the
extent of all they have to spare ; and I shall teach them so to do, and
if they do not do it, their religion is vain. If the enemies of truth are
dissatisfied with this, then let them set the example of going on a mis-
sion without eating, drinking, or wearing any cloths, let them live with-
out houses, let them print and build houses of worship without money j

and when they have shewn by a long practical experience that it can
be done to advantage, then perhaps we will adopt it ; but till then, we
beg to be excused.

We preach a religion which very materially affects men's purses ;
and a religion which does not affect men's purses is worse than none.
A bitter complaint is made by Mr. Livesey because when men give
money to the society for any of these pm-poses, and aftei-wards leave
the society, they cannot get it back. Will our opponent please point
out to us where some institution exists which pays back the money
donated to it. We should like a few examples and precedents set be-
fore us in this matter, as well as in the former case, for we are young
and inexperienced as a society. Perhaps the Missionary, Bible, Tract,
or other Societies pay back the money which is given them ! Perhaps
the Methodist Episcopal Church pays back the money collected for
the support of their ministers, at their weekly, monthly, quarterly and
yearly collections !

Mr. Livesey's work contains a letter, purporting to come from me,
against Messrs. Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon ; I should
think Mr. Newton must be possessed of much impudence and pre-
sumption, or he would never have given publicity to such a letter here
in Manchester, with my name to it. When the public know that I
am here proclaiming both from the press and pulpit, the principles
which are held by Messrs. Smith and lligdon, does such a letter need
any contradiction from me, more tlian is daily exhibited in my
publications and discourses? Still I take this opportunity to say, that
for ten years I have esteemed Messrs. Smith and Rigdon as men of
God, and men who have suffered more for the testimony of Jesus, than
any other men now lining. I have been a minister in connexion with
them for more than ten years — I have been with them in dungeons
and in chains — I have stood ^vith them as lambs among wolves, when
we were sentenced to death without trial by judge or jury — and the
deadly rifle aimed at our heads, and the dagger, already stained with
the blood of the Saints, pointed at our breasts, wliile we were helpless
prisoners and uncondemned — and I now bear witness, that they are
servants of the Most High God, for whom I would lay down my life
if necessary. These letters from apostates and dissenters, are wicked
lies and misrepresentations. By them a false colouring is thrown
over every circumstance of which they speak. The pubHc in England
know not what the founders of this church had to suffer for the cause
of truth ; nor the circumstances which gave rise to many things which
are made to answer as stumbling blocks by misrepresentation and
slander. But knowii unto God are all their wrongs, and all their
woes ; and in that day when the secrets of all hearts are made mani-
fest, then will the lyings, the slanderings, the persecutions, the rash
judgments which have been heaped upon the I/atter-Day Saints be
known before the assembled universe, and we and our enemies will
have an impartial judgment rendered unto us, according to the deeds
done in the body. That M«ssrs. Rigdon, Smith, and myself have
our failings, it is true; we are but imperfect creatures at best, but
base and dispiscd as we are, God has seen fit to give us a dispensation

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of the Gospel to preach to the nations, and we glory in tribulation
and reproach ; yea, vre count our lives not dear if it so be that we
may win Chiist, and bring souls to repentance. The worst wish that
we wish for our enemies, is, that they may live to find out that they
are speaking evil of those things which they understand not, and may
be brought to repentance.

I w-ould now enquire why it is that our enemies always take the
weapons of slander and reproach to oppose us, instead of meeting us
fairly upon principle ? If our doctrines are false and unscriptural, as
they represent them to be, why do they not point out detimitely where-
in they are so ?

We have ever' been, and we still continue to be, open, frank, and
free to make all our principles knmvn to the public : five thousand
copies of the Book of Mormon will soon be issued from the press in
this counti-y, the public can have them, or any of the works which we
have now on hand. We have no secrets in our system, but on the
other hand have taken unwearied pains to lay our principles before
the public.

If our doctrines or books are unscriptural or false, they can be
easily detected, and shown to be so, without ranging creation to slan-
der and vilify our characters.

Having finished my reply to these publications, I consider it a duty
I owe the public to expose " Methodism •" but in so doing I shall not
vilify any man's character, nor range sea and land to select and brhig
forward slanderous reports and railing accusations ; but shall simply
show from the scriptures, in few words, that the Methodist church is
not the church of Christ, and that her ministers do not preach the gospel
of Christ, but are under the curse which Paul pronounced upon those
vho preach a different gospel from that which he preached.

In order to shew this clearly, I must, in the first place, shew what
constitutes a church of Christ, and what the gospel is.

From Ephesians, chap. iv. we learn that the church of Christ con-
sisted of one body, and one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, and
one baptism.

In this one body there were certain offices, ordinances, gifts and
blessings, by which it may be easily distinguished from all other re-
ligious systems.

Its offices consisted of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers ; these were all inspired and appointed by the immediate gift
of God, who had ascended high, and given gifts unto men. These
offices thus insph-ed and set in the church, were " for the work of the
ministry, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body
of Christ," and were destined to continue in the true church wherever
it existed until they all arrived at perfection.

Its ordinances consisted of baptism for the remission of sins — Acts
ii. 38 ; of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost — Acts
xii. 17, and xix. 6 ; of laying hands on the sick to heal them — Mark
xvi. 18 ; of the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord to heal the
sick — James iv. 14, and of the Lord's supper.

Its gifts and blessings consisted of wisdom, knowledge, faith, mira-

cles, healings, tongues, interpretations, discerning of spirits, revelations,
visions, dreams, prophecyings, &c., all flowing from that spirit which
they received through the ordinances ; the Lord dividing these things
among the memhers severally, as he saw fit — Joel ii. 28, 29 ; Acts ii.
17, 18; 1st. Cor. xii. xiii. xiv. ; Mark xvi. 17, 18.

Such, then, is the church of Christ from the days of Christ hence-
forth and for ever, wherever it exists among men. A people who do
away or alter one of these offices, ordinances, or gifts, saying we have
no need of you, can no longer he called the church of Christ. There
never was a church of Christ, there is not now, nor ever will he, un-
less they answer the description here given.

The gospel preached hy the apostles, consisted of faith in Christ, re-
pentance towards God, haptism for the remission of sins, laying on of
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment; requiring those who oheyed this gospel, to endure
to the end in all the Christian duties. If a man had two coats he
should give one to him that had none ; if he had meat let him do like-
wise ; if he was rich he should sell that he had and give to the poor ;
in short he should live hy every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God.

Now I would enquire of the Methodist, and of the puhlic, whether
the Methodist church answers the foregoing description, and whether
their ministers preach accordingly? If they answer in the negative,
then I would enquire whether the Bible is the rule and pattern, or
whether the system established by the apostles has been disannulled,
and Methodism and other modem systems of form, denying the power,
instituted in its stead ? if so, when was it done, and by what authority?

I shall now proceed to make a few extracts from the Methodist dis-
cipline, section second : —

1. "There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without
body or parts."

2. " In unity of this Godhead there are three persons of one si/6-
stancc, power and eternity, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

3. ^^ This Christ, yery God, and very ?«««, who truly suffered, was
crucified, dead and buried."

4. " To reconcile his father to us," &.c.

5. " Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his
body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature,
wherewith he ascended into heaven,"

6. " And there sitteth until he return to jiidfje the world at the
last day."

I must say, that I never saw such a bundle of nonsense, contradic-
tion and absxirdity thrown together before.

1. A God without body or parts, consisting of three persons.

2. One of these persons, who is very God, was crucified, dead and
buried, {without body or parts !)

3. The object was to reconcile his Father to us, instead of reconciling
US to the Father ; thus conveying the idea that his Father must be
changed about, and made a new creature, in order to be reconciled to
poor sinful mortals, who are unchanged.

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4. This God {without body or parts), arose from the dead, and took
upon him his body, when he had none ; hut to cap the climax, he has
gone to heaven, there to remain till he comes to judge the world at the
last doy. Thus contradicting the 3rd, 20th, and 21st of Acts, where
Peter promises that God \nl\ send him again, at the times of restitu-
tion of all things spoken by the prophets ; this restitution will he a
long time before the last day. See llev. xx. and Zech. xiv.

Here then is the Methodist God, without either eyes, earsormouth ! ! !
And yet man was created after th<j imuge of God ; but this could not
apply to the Methodist God, for he has no image or likeness .' The
Methodist God can neither be Jehovah nor Jesus Christ ; for Jehovah
shewed his^ace to Moses and seventy elders of Israel, and his feet too:
he also wrote with his own finger on the tables of stone. Isaiah in-
forms us, that his arm is not shortened ; that his ear is not dull of
hearing, &.c., and that he will proceed to make bare his arm in the
eyes of all natians. And Ezek. says his fury shall come up in his
face ; and Zech. xiv. says his feet shall stand in that day, upon the
mount- of olives, and they wliich behold shall say, what are these
woimds in thy hands, and in thy feet, &c. Consequently, Methodism
is a system of idolatry.

Now, although I feel disposed, and have promised to hold sacred
the character of men, and not vilify or slander them in this exposure ;
yet I have not promised to speak respectfully of the Methodist God,
or spare his character in the least ; therefore, I hope my readers will
indulge me while t treat him with that contempt with which the idols
were treated by Isaiah and Elijah. If I do not offend man in so doing,
I am sure not to offend this God ; for ha\-ing no eyes, he will not see
me, and no ears, he will not hear me, and no mouth, he will not re-
prove me, and no arm, he will not take vengeance on me.

I must say then, that I neither love, serve, nor fear a God who has
neither body or parts, and hovvever I may dishke the conduct of some
of the Methodists, yet I think far more favourably of them than I do
of their God ; for I know that many of them are sincere, and have
never looked sufficiently into their owa discipline, neither have they
realised that such things were written in it. Such persons, will
turn from the system the moment they are brought to understanding
on the subject. I would say to such, " The days of this ignorance
God winked at, but now commandeth he all men everywhere to
repent."

Having now replied to our opponents, I will close this pamphlet by
quoting an exhortation by the Rev. John Simons, (of the Church of
England) in his pamphlet against the Latter-day Saints, published at
Dymock, Herefordshire, Sept., 1840, it is good advdce, and I hopeitwill
be strictly heeded by every sincere enquu-er after truth. It reads as
follows : — " Let me implore you to examine well the proofs and evi-
dences presented to you, both for and against this pretended new reve-
lation; and rest not satisfied till you have a fulL conviction either of its
truth or falsehood. Do not depend upon your uninformed judgment
in deciding upon this all-important subject; but seek for instruction
from those who are able and willing to give it to you. * * * Hear both

sides of the question before you come to a determination. Remember
eternal salvation or eternal damnation depends upon this enquiry. I
shall conclude in the -words of the Apostle : — ' Be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about -with every wind of doctrine, or
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to
deceive :' but 'prove all things, hold fast that which is good.' That
God of his infinite mercy may enable you to do this, for the sake of
Jesus Christ our Lord, is the fervent, daily prayer of your faithful
Mend and minister. — John Simons."

P. S. Just as the foregoing pages were going to press I happened to
notice the following, contained in Elder Taylor's Answer to Mr. Seys,
Wesley an Minister in the Isle of Man.

"Mr. Heyssays, that Joseph Smith, Jun. is the author and publisher
of the Book of Mormon; Mr. Livesey says that Solomon Spaulding is
the author of it! One says that it was written by Martin Harris &. Oliver
Cowdery from the mouth of Joseph Smith, Jun. as he looked at a stone
withjhis face in a hat ; the other, that it was written, and altered by Sid-
ney Rigdon, from the " Manuscript Found" ! ! One makes it out that it
was written in Harmony township, Susquehanah county, by Martin
Harris & Ohver Cowdery ; the other, that it was written in Conneaut,
Ohio, first by Solomon Spaulding, and afterwards altered by Sidney
Rigdon, in Pittsburg, Pensylvania ! !! So much then for the agree-
ment of the testimony which is brought forth as Facts concerning the
coming forth of the Book of Mormon ; and yet these gentlemen are
both of them good men ; both of them accredited ministers of the Me-
thodist connexion ; and both of them have got what they call Facts,
diametrically opposed to each other as light is from darkness. But
Mr. Heys has got good testimony to his account, so has Mr. Livesey ;
and I suppose that because both of the testimonies are good, they
must both of them be true — although the one contradicts the other —
especially as they were supported and held forth by such pious, holy
men."

I also publish the following from the New York Sim, one of the most
respectable political papers in America, dated Jidy 28, 1840, in order
that my readers may contrast it with Mr. Parrish's letters contained in
Mr. Livescy's tract, and then judge for themselves whether our system
has come to ruin and sunk in eternal night as is predicted by Parrish. It
reads as follows : —

" A GLANCE AT THE LATTER-DAT SAINTS.

Since the Latter-Day Saints were expelled from the state of Mis-
souri, they have purchased the town of Commerce, a situation of sur-
passing beauty, at the head of the lower rapids, on the Illinois shore of
the Mississippi river. The name of the place they have recently changed
to Nauvoo, the Hebrew term for fair or beautiful. Around this place as
their centre, they are daily gathering from every quarter ; and seve-
ral hundred new houses, erected within the last few months, attest, to
the passing traveller, the energy, industry, and self-denial with which
the community are imbued. They have also obtained possession of

12

extensive land on the opposite side of the river, in that charming por-
tion of Iowa Territory, known as the " Half-breed Reservation," and
there upon the rolling and fertile prairies, they are rapidly selecting
their homes and opening their farms. As the traveller now passes
through these natural parks and fields of flowers, which the hand of
the Creator seems to have originally planted there for the inspection
of his own eye, he beholds their cabins dotted down in most enchant-
ing perspective, either on the borders of the timber, or beside the
springs and streams of living water, which are interspersed on every
hand.

Nor are they unmindful of their interests abroad, while they are
thus accomplishing so much at home. No sect, T\ith equal means, has
probably ever suffered and achieved more in so short a space of time.
Their eiders have not only been commisioned and sent forth to every
part of our own country, but they have left their families and friends
behind them, and gone to Europe, and even to the Holy Land, to re-
veal the wonders of the " new and everlasting covenant," and to preach
" the dispensation of the fulness of tlie gospel." They doubt not but
that they shall be endued, when necessary, with power from on high
10 proclaim to all the nations of the earth, in their own tongues, the
wonderful works of God."

LATTER-DAY SAINTS'

Tracts, Books, Addi-esses, Periodicals, Replies, &c., for sale, by P.
P. Pratt, at the Millennial Star Office, No. 149, Oldham Road Man-
chester, and by agents throughout England and Scotland. — AU cash
orders will be strictly attended to, and great reduction made to whole-
sale purchasers.

W. R. Thomas, Printer, Spring Gardens, Manchester.